Revealing Evidence
by Praetor Corvinus
Summary: Sometimes evidence needs to be seen under a different light. Slash One-shot


* * *

Despite the fact that the sun had set hours ago, the air was still hot. The heat was the one drawback to Las Vegas. That still didn't stop the tourists from their exodus into the desert and the resort town oasis in the middle of it, however. Having one of the highest crime rates in the country didn't deter them either.

Warrick leaned against the Denali, waiting patiently. A few beads of sweat ran down his cheek. Catherine was standing next to him. The sound of her fingers taping on the hood indicated she was less than patient. They had been waiting for about ten minutes.

"Where the hell is he?" Catherine asked.

Warrick shrugged. "Don't know. He said he'd only be a minute."

"Well, he's had about ten times that. He does know we have a scene to process, right?"

With a sigh, Warrick agreed. "Yeah. I told him about it as we passed Sara and Sanders in the hall. He said he had something to take care of first and then ran off."

Catherin raised an eyebrow. "Did you see where he went?"

"Nah," Warrick said, shaking his head. "Last I saw, he was following Sanders."

A smile appeared on the redhead's face. "Ah."

Warrick narrowed his eyes. "What?"

"Nothing."

"No. You said 'ah' like you just solved a puzzle. Spill it."

Catherine just waved a hand at him. "Never mind. You don't want to hear it anyway."

A frustrated groan escaped from Warrick's throat. "God, not this again. Come on. You can't honestly still be going on about that."

For several weeks now, Catherine has been hypothesizing about a possible workplace relationship. Normally, Warrick wouldn't care about such things. He'd just listen to her theories and her 'evidence' politely. He didn't mind humoring her.

This time it was different. She was laboring under the belief that Nick, all-American Nick Stokes –his best friend – was gay. Not only that, but in a relationship with Greg Sanders. The newest CSI who had been crushing on Sara Sidle for years in a homosexual relationship with straight-laced, ladies man Nick.

Yeah. Right.

"Hey," Catherine continued. "You need to listen to what they say. Everything is either an innuendo or full of sub-text. I'm not making this up."

Warrick just shook his head. "You're making something out of nothing, here. That's how guys interact. Sex jokes and innuendo are the norm."

"I'm just telling you what I'm seeing here."

"Sometimes you see into things too much," Warrick said lowly.

Catherine shot him a glare before turning back to face the lab. The building's doors opened as Nick Stokes came rushing out.

"Hey, sorry guys. I got hung up." Nick leaned against the vehicle for a second to catch his breath.

Catherine smiled slyly at him. "You alright there? You look a little flushed."

Warrick rolled his eyes and got into the driver's seat. Nick just waved at her to show he was fine before getting into the back seat. Catherine bit her lip and sat in the passenger seat.

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The three CSIs walked into the lobby of the crowded building. They glanced around at the people gathered around. Several were crying. All three turned as Detective Vega approached them.

"Hey," he greeted. "We got one DB in the main arena. Still waiting for the coroner."

Warrick looked over at the police guarding a pair of large doors. Above them was the word 'Battleground'. The walls around the lobby were covered in murals depicting various sorts of sci-fi combat.

Laser Tag.

"Did anyone see anything?" Catherine asked.

Vega shook his head and began to lead the inside the doors. "No. With the running and crazy lights, nobody saw anything."

Nick nodded. "Yeah, I believe that. These places are always dark except for black lights. They're filled with fog too. It can be kinda chaotic."

Navigating quickly through the psychedelic labyrinth, they eventually came across the body of a young, twenty-something male. His face was covered in blood."

"Looks like the kid was bludgeoned to death," Warrick stated.

The manager, who was standing nearby, stepped forward. "People are always running through this place. We tell them not to, it's in the rules, but they still do. I don't know how many times I've seen people walking out with bruised arms, chests and faces from bashing into each other. Kids sometimes get trampled."

"It's possible the guy was hit in the face and hit that wall there," Catherine said. She began looking at the wall the victim's head was leaning against. It was impossible to tell if there was any blood though. The walls were covered in various shades of red, blue, green, and yellow.

"You should probably try the ALS," suggested Warrick.

"You know," Nick said. "This whole place is like an ALS. The black lights are ultraviolet lights. It should show any sort of body fluid."

"Or dandruff," Catherine added. "I took Lindsey to one of these places once. Didn't know I had dandruff until I walked in here." She looked over at the manager. "Can you have them shut off the main lights and turn on the UVs?"

The manager nodded and walked away, Vega following.

A moment later, the house lights switched off. Everything that wasn't black began to glow.

Nick began examining the wall.

"Yep, I've got a blood smear. Starts here at this knot in the wall. Guy was probably hit in the face with something and fell back. Have to wait for the coroner, though. Hey can you guys see if…"

He trailed off as he looked back at his colleagues. Catherine was wearing a huge grin on her face while Warrick looked horrified.

Nick frowned. "What?"

Catherine busted out laughing and nudged Warrick. "I told you," she stammered.

Nick was unaware of the two glowing white spots on his face. One was on his cheek and the other just below his bottom lip.

Feeling completely confused, Nick looked back and forth between his friends. "Is there something on my face?"

* * *

A/N: I needed a break from "The Brave and The Bold". Also, I need a cure for the writer's bloc for that as well, but that's beside the point. This came from a conversation I had at work. CSI and ALS is often a running gag between my coworkers. Thought I'd share. :)


End file.
